Atonement for a sinless society

[At Peace]

Greetings again Hekuran,
yes, perfectionism in itself is not healthy if it becomes a god before God, if that makes sense?

Yes, shun the shame unless it is deserved, but even then, we do need to recall that the Lord Jesus Christ partook of shame as part of that blessed exchange for us on the tree (cross).
The devil will have anyone who listens to his lies biting his bait to keep us looking at ourselves and to ignore the words of the LORD, Who alone can be trusted. Such ignoring tends to rebellion which of course is not on course.

May I suggest that you dip into the Song of Solomon a bit and see Jesus in there in a way that helps you equate more of the One Who, though He received blows to the head and whippings to His back, though He was spat upon and had His beard pulled, though He was crowned with thorns and mocked and ridiculed, though He was pierced and bled and died, remained that Lovely Lover of your soul, crying out, Father, forgive them...
yes it can drive the shame to such painful depths but from there we can cry out, forgive me Lord, and then we might hear resounding back, It is finished.... for you all things new, lets walk in peace as One.

"Walk in peace as One"...but not sin free?

 

[Hekuran]

Yes, shun the shame unless it is deserved, but even then, we do need to recall that the Lord Jesus Christ partook of shame as part of that blessed exchange for us on the tree (cross).

Thank you. After two years here's my completely obvious conclusion. It's taken me a long time to get here.

 

[Br. Bear]

Thank you. After two years here's my completely obvious conclusion. It's taken me a long time to get here.

perhaps that's the difference between annuals and perennials?


Bless you ....><>

 

[Hekuran]

perhaps that's the difference between annuals and perennials?


Bless you ....><>

Ah! whoops! That's a quarter written draft post that ended up going public by accident. I was resting in the park after work and a summer rainstorm put a sudden end to it. I'm sure I was about to write something erudite and wise, but the moment has passed and I've forgotten what I was going to say...

The simple Old Testament meaning of the " to sin" is "to miss the mark". In terms of archery, it is to fall short of the target, to shoot wide, or to overshoot. There are other words - transgression, trespass, iniquity, to do evil - for other ideas.

Shame can only exist in the context of relationship (imagine feeling shame on a desert island). It happens when we have fallen short of the standards we set ourselves or are set by others. It does not have to be centred on wrongdoing or evil, as anybody who has misinterpreted the dress code for a party can testify.

Chronic shame, the kind that unleashes all the negative power of perfectionism, happens when a person's view of themselves is dominated by the gap between what they aspire and long to be, and their knowledge of who they really are. It ends up eating away at a person, causing them to be fundamentally uncomfortable with themselves, and find it very difficult to maintain honest and close relationships. There is a constant dread fear of being unmasked - exposed for who you really are.

Here I should say that there is a place for a healthy sense of shame. Surely the only people who feel no shame are psychopaths.

I believe that only in Jesus Christ do we have a complete answer to this sense of dread shame. His love, forgiveness, self-emptying and reconciliation break down the barriers and give us the freedom to look at ourselves honestly. I fail in more ways than I can describe, but I am assured that I am nevertheless loved. Jesus, by his sacrifice, makes up for all that I am not.

So paradoxically I am both horribly and deeply flawed and rather wonderful!

I couldn't have written that two years ago.

 

[Hekuran]

perhaps that's the difference between annuals and perennials?


Bless you ....><>

Maybe. Or just a slow thinker.